Our Easter Hope and Promise

March 29, 2018

March 29, 2018

If anyone needed a redeemer, it was Job. Job was an upright, righteous man who suffered deep personal affliction. He was stripped of everything. Further, he lost his reputation as a godly man, because the theological orthodoxy of his day viewed prosperity as a sign of God’s blessing for righteousness; misfortune was a sign of God’s punishment for sin.

In the midst of pain and loss, Job still maintains an abiding conviction. He declares there is a redeemer; God will champion his cause. Even if Job dies before vindication, he proclaims he will see God and they will stand together. In the midst of his suffering, while in great despair, lacking any tangible evidence of God’s presence, Job still asserts: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and He will stand upon the earth at last.” (Job 19:25)

God is the one who not only defended Job, but restored him and blessed the later days of his life more than the first. (Job 42:12).

In the words of John Newton, there is no name of Jesus more significant, comprehensive or enduring than the name Redeemer. It was accomplished on the cross at Calvary.

If Job was able to proclaim this truth, how much more ought you and I, since the cross and the resurrection have become a historical reality. On “the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30), Jesus will stand up to plead His own sinless sacrifice as the price of our salvation. Everyone who belongs to Him by faith will be cleared of all charges.

G.F. Handel captures in his magnificent Hallelujah Chorus:

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth
Hallelujah!
The kingdom of this world
Is become
The kingdom of our Lord
And of His Christ,
And He shall reign forever and ever.

I love Easter Sunday – worshipping together with people of like mind and faith, some of whom I have worshipped with for 30 years, others for the first time. An Easter tradition at Centenary United Methodist Church, where Ken and I attend, is that parishioners who have sung Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” are invited to the choir loft to join in singing this marvelous anthem, a declaration of the passion and resurrection of Christ. While I consider going, I always remain at the pew and listen. This year, I think I will make my way to the choir.

Dr. Sandra C. Gray
President,
Asbury University